All Blacks coach stirs the Bledisloe pot

AAP
Thursday, August 14, 2014

Update: 6:14PM ALL Blacks coach Steve Hansen has relished stirring the pot ahead of Saturday's Bledisloe Cup opener by claiming the Wallabies have picked Kurtley Beale to keep him out of the clutches of rugby league.

Hansen admitted on Thursday he was "dumbfounded" by counterpart Ewen McKenzie's shock selection of Beale at first five-eighth ahead of incumbent Bernard Foley for the ANZ Stadium blockbuster.

Chasing a record 18th straight Test win, the New Zealand mentor voiced his assumption that McKenzie was under instructions from the Australian Rugby Union to keep the off-contract star in the code.

Hansen's mind games also extended to questioning Beale's goalkicking ability, especially as his last attempt in the Test arena was the missed match-decider against the British and Irish Lions 14 months ago.